Finished! And Begun! Part 2!

I've tackled and brought down another UFO and a bit more yarn.

These Green Living Totes were started about 2 years ago, when I planned to make a bunch of them for gifts. I finally finished the first 2, then decided enough is enough. I like them but I do not love them. They will find a good home somewhere, eventually.

Speaking of good homes, one of the charity projects for the Knitting Guild this year is wash cloths and soap bags for Safe Homes and women's shelters in our area. I have plenty of Peaches and Creme left to make several sets. I am using my favorite pattern, the Ballband, from Mason Dixon. The soapbag pattern adaptation is still wandering around in my brain...

So that I do not have to carry around the huge cones, I used my math skills to determine how many grams I need for the inside color (28g) and the outside color (20g.) I love my Biggest Loser Kitchen Scale! For my version, I work the pattern over 39 stitches, but I cast on 4 extra stitches (total 43 stitches) and always knit the 1st 2stitches of each row.  Before the final 2 stitches, I bring the yarn forward and slip those last 2 stitches. It makes a nice edge...sorry about the washed-out color- I ran out to take the picture at dusk so I could finish this post!!)

I think these projects will hit a home run!

Easter Joy

Along with "Alleluia, the Lord is risen...the Lord is risen indeed, Alleluia!" I can say "alleluia, I did it!"

My Lenten Prayer Shawl, which was begun on Ash Wednesday, was completed on Good Friday...even the fringe! (Last year, my LPS was begun on Ash Wednesday and completed sometime around Thanksgiving.) This one, as usual, is knit from Homespun in "Herb Garden."

This photo does not do justice to the colorway- it is much more of a deep green and does not have any blue. Someday, if I can't figure out how to take more accurate photos, I will learn how to adjust them for color!

Added to the 2 shawls I completed earlier this year, I now have 3 to be blessed for our homebound parishioners. Thankfully there are other knitters now, and I think next time we have a shawl blessing we will have 6 or 7 finished shawls!

Also in a timely fashion, I completed a jigsaw puzzle. I was changing out winter/summer clothes (we skipped spring this year) and found this on the top shelf of the closet. It was started a few days before Palm Sunday, and finished on Easter day.

(Again, the colors should be much brighter. The puzzle is larger, also, but I had to crop out some of the reflections.)
Pysanky  (Ukrainian Easter eggs) have a wonderful place in my heart. My ex's grandparents came from Ukraine in the nineteen teens, and he decided to live into his heritage and take up the craft. He and his brother made a number of eggs, and even sold some at a large craft fair. They are made from blown eggs, using paint, wax, a candle, and a very steady hand!

Like knitting and reading, jigsaw puzzles can consume me. I enjoy the process, but sometimes I just knit through/read through/puzzle through until the wee hour of the morning to finish.  I have done 4 or 5 puzzles since Christmas, and will post about them later.

Cleaning is another story. I can dust one table and be ready for a nap.